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Mosque of Mohammed Ali, old Cairo. Above all of Cairo the Mosque of Mohammed Ali towers on a bluff mid-town. The views outside include the pyramids at Giza and inside the multi-domed mosque takes your breath away.
The Qalawun complex, also known as the Funerary complex of Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun, is a historic religious complex located at Bayn al-Qasrayn on al-Mu'izz street, in Islamic Cairo, Egypt. Built by Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun between 1284 and 1285, the complex is like many other pious complexes and includes a hospital (bimaristan), a madrasa, mausoleum, and mosque.
Despite controversy surrounding its construction, the complex is widely regarded as one of the major monuments of Islamic Cairo and of Mamluk architecture, notable for the size and scope of its contributions to legal scholarship, its charitable operations, and for the richness of its architecture.
The Qalawun complex was built over the ruins of the Fatimid Western Palace, with several halls in the palace. Unlike most later Mamluk sultans, Qalawun did not begin construction on his funerary complex right after coming to power but did so many years later, after he consolidated his rule and fought off the Mongols in Syria. The structure is situated in the heart of Cairo, on the prestigious Bayn al-Qasrayn street, and has been a center for important Islamic religious and court ceremonies and rituals for centuries, stretching from the Mamluk dynasty through the Ottoman Empire.
This complex is one of many Mamluk buildings that made Cairo a flourishing metropolis in the 13th through 16th centuries. It is one of many pious complexes (fully-integrated multifunctional complexes often centered around the tomb of religious figures or patrons that included turbas or funerary complexes, khanqahs, and other buildings) that served many purposes including exalting the patron through displays of their wealth, piety, and legitimacy.
As I was walking on a busy market street in historic Cairo near Khan El Khalili on a particularly busy shopping day, I was crowded on all sides. When the crowds parted a little, I came face to face with this young man who looked like he had been waiting for me. Click!
Khan el-Khalili (خان الخليلي) is a famous bazaar in the historic center of Cairo, Egypt. Established as a center of trade in the Mamluk era and named for one of its several historic caravanserais, the bazaar district has since become one of Cairo's main attractions for tourists and Egyptians alike. It is also home to many Egyptian artisans and workshops involved in the production of traditional crafts and souvenirs. The name Khan el-Khalili historically referred to a single building in the area; today it refers to the entire shopping district.
Cairo was originally founded in 969 CE as a capital for the Fatimid Caliphate, an empire which by then covered much of North Africa and parts of the Levant and the Hijaz. Jawhar al-Siqilli, the general who conquered Egypt for the Fatimids, was ordered to construct a great palace complex to house the caliphs, their household, and the state's institutions. Two palaces were eventually completed: an eastern one (the larger of the two) and a western one, between which was a plaza known as Bayn al-Qasrayn (lit. 'Between the Two Palaces'). The site of Khan el-Khalili today was originally the southern end of the eastern Fatimid palace as well as the location of the burial site of the Fatimid caliphs: a mausoleum known as Turbat az-Za'faraan ('the Saffron Tomb'). Also located here was a lesser palace known as al-Qasr al-Nafi'i (today the site of the 19th-century Wikala of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar).
Under the Fatimids, Cairo was a palace-city which was closed to the common people and inhabited only by the Caliph's family, state officials, army regiments, and other people necessary to the operation of the regime and its city. The first attempts to open the city to merchants and other outsiders took place in the later Fatimid period, on the initiative of powerful viziers. Between 1087 and 1092, Badr al-Jamali, the vizier under Caliph al-Mustansir, undertook the task of enlarging the city and building the stone walls and gates that still partly exist today. At the same time, he also opened the city to the common people, but the decision was quickly reversed. Between 1121 and 1125, al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi, vizier under Caliph al-Amir, undertook many reforms and construction projects, including the creation of a mint, known as the Dar al-Darb, and of a customs house for foreign merchants, known as the Dar al-Wikala. These were placed in a central location not far from the current site of the 15th-century Madrasa of al-Ashraf Barsbay. This introduced foreign trade into the heart of the city for the first time
The proximity of Cairo, a colossal city considering its extension and population, is shocking once you situate yourself in the surroundings of the Giza pyramids.
As respectful as future developments, such as the new practically built museum, are with that environment, they will continue to make the location a unique place.
I had the owner take the cover off this car so I could take a photo. There's a lot of vintage autos in Cairo on the streets, some people drive them around but you see a lot of them parked with covers.
In the category #CitiesAtNight, #Cairo in Egypt is probably the easiest to recognise from space, and also the most amazing. The Nile river brings agriculture, people and... lights. At night you can follow the thin thread of the river lights to the North and clearly see where Cairo and the Nile delta begins.
S’il y a bien une ville facile à reconnaître, c’est Le Caire : une mégalopole illuminée entre le long chemin tracé par le Nil et l’éventail du delta. 🇪🇬
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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